A new scholarship to study at the prestigious Sundance Institute has been awarded to an aspiring Māori film-maker.
Toiroa Williams, 23, will spend a year at the institute in Los Angeles which was founded by actor Robert Redford to advance the work of those working in film and theatre. Nearly 300 people in NZ applied for the scholarship and Toiroa was one of two successful applicants.

In a year when Maori were making movie headlines, there was one little kiwi movie quietly winning critical praise and international awards. Orphans and Kingdoms was released in New Zealand earlier this year and it was the lead actor, teenager Calae Hignett Morgan who grabbed our attention.

NZ Film Mahana has been selected to open the inaugural WINDA Indigenous Film Festival in Sydney tomorrow. It is the first time the festival has been held in Australia. Mahana is directed by Lee Tamahori, the director of the critically acclaimed film Once Were Warriors.